Dear All,

You are cordially invited to attend an upcoming academic seminar presented by Ekin Gültepe, a PhD Candidate in Civil Engineering at the University of Canterbury.

Event Details

Title: “Less-Disruptive Retrofit Method for RC Columns”

Date: Friday, June 12, 2026

Time: 11:00 AM

Venue: Department of Civil Engineering (Building C), Room CZ11

Less-Disruptive Retrofit Method for RC Columns

Columns in older reinforced concrete (RC) buildings are often vulnerable to shear and bond failure, which limits their deformability. Current retrofit methods require access to all column faces, which means removing facades, window frames, and infill walls. These disruptions can be costly and often delay urgently needed seismic strengthening. This study introduces a less disruptive retrofit method inspired by techniques developed in Japan for Shinkansen viaduct columns. Steel plates are attached to one or two accessible faces of rectangular RC columns using post-installed anchor rods. Full-scale cyclic tests showed that the method improves shear and bond capacity and deformability, with greater gains when plates are applied to two parallel faces. Drift capacity improved from 0.7% in unretrofitted columns to 5.2% in retrofitted columns. The proposed method offers an effective and less-disruptive alternative to current retrofits for vulnerable RC buildings.